Oh man you guys, my entry way is not coming along like i had hoped. Normally, things just kinda work out and its not often that i struggle with making things look the way that i want them – this is not the case with my entry re-decorating!

If you have been following along, you know that i am breaking down my entry progress like i said in this post. I was really hoping i would be further along by now. So far i have painted and repainted, stripped paint off, repainted again – and had to go back to the “drawing board” lots of times.

This is a wordy post with no pretty pics – just beware! But this is my thought process about my whole ordeal :)

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So – the last post about my entry i left off with painting my antique cupboard. Along with painting it, i added some crown molding and some vintage corbels like i talked about doing in this post. Obviously, its just resting on the dresser and still needs to be hung on the wall….

BUT…i really want to bring in some natural wood tones as im starting to get a lot of painted furniture going on. Plus i really didnt like the white dresser against the white walls. The next part of my plan was to strip the dresser of all its paint and stain it a warm color – lighter than the floor. So off to the garage the dresser went :)

I stripped and sanded, stripped and then sanded even more and this is what i got….YUCK!!!! (awful pic taken with my phone)

The wood underneath was oak and it was SO UGLY! The sides and the frames werent too bad, but the middle panels of the dresser is oak paneling and it looked really dated. This was def not going to be the pretty warm toned wood that i was going for. Plus, the dresser is old and has lots of dents and dings so trying to get out all the white was a pain. I didnt want to go the work of adding new panels, and i dont envision this piece two toned so the wood needed to be covered up. I tried a white washing look, but it was pukey. I tried staining it with my vinegar solution, again pukey.

So – now im left with a whitewashed dresser and a blue cupboard to go above it. Not what i was going for! My next thought was to paint the dresser blue and then forget about using the cupboard. I really wanted the cupboard to work, but figured i could probably find another place to use it. The only other option i could think of, was to do some sort of gallery wall above the dresser with some frames i have been hoarding. But, a gallery wall was really not what i envisioned here and i wasnt too happy with this idea, plus i think it can look cluttery (in a good way) and thats not what i wanted for this space. This is when i called it quits and went to bed! My brain hurt thinking about it all day!

The next morning, i decided the paint the dresser and then strip and stain the cupboard – ahhh – SO MUCH WORK!!!! But, i would be getting something painted and then something stained which is what i ultimately wanted.

I gave the dresser sort of a heavy dry brushing coat of darker blue, heavily distressed it then glazed it. When the dresser was outside with lots of light, i liked the sort of washed out finish and if you know me then you know i like distressed furniture!

But the 2nd i brought it in, i knew it wasnt going to work. I HATED it! The color was dark and dingey and just didnt look good. The super distressed finish was just too much for this dresser and didnt look good at all.

This is the point i was ready to give up. I kept going back and forth with keeping the dresser…with using my antique cupboard…with doing something else above the dresser like a gallery wall. I tried moving other furniture from my house to the entry but nothing worked. I really love this dresser (repainted again of course!) and dont want to sell it, so i was trying to think of anywhere else it could go, but it just wont work in any of my other rooms. What to do, what to do!!!!

I took a break from the whole thing to clear my mind. I was standing in the kitchen and noticed that i really love my green pantry door with my white planked wall. Here is a pic of my pantry door. So, i decided to repaint the dresser in a vintage green. I went and bought some paint, took the dresser back out to the garage and then changed my mind again and painted it a gray/green/blue, a mistint paint that i had picked up a couple days ago.

Here is a little peak of the color…

Is anyone still with me……………?????

So, now i have the dresser back in the house and i love it! The color is perfect and goes well with my house. I have started stripping my antique cupboard and that will be getting stained and being hung above the dresser as originally planned.

Im really excited now to get this entry way going again! Its so funny how a certain color can totally change the way that i want to decorate and how the space will “feel”. I have a couple little projects that i have wanted to do forever and with the new color of the dresser and the cupboard i am finally going to do them because the whole thing will look awesome together :)

Oh Sausha, you left us hanging…I was so wanting to see the end result..I guess I will be back when you finish everything up..Love the final color..its going to be great….Lots of work for you but the end result will end in true satisfaction. Blessings!

I have so had this kind of decorating experience. Drives my husband, and me, batty when I continually have to change something the moment I finish it. Can’t wait to see your finished space, and I love that final color!!

I am so glad I am not the only one who does a project and ends up not liking it at all! I have a buffet in my dining room that I spent HOURS on, painted, glazed,and poly’d, and now I want to change it…ugh! I am personally obsessed with the color you ended up with, so I love it!!

I love your diligence!! And the final color choice.
Thank you so much for sharing your pursuit and for helping us learn that persistence is the key. You don’t just have to live with it or not use it. It’s a testament, as well, that even when you’re experienced and think you know what you want sometimes it takes some real experience with the combinations to know for sure.
Many good wishes!

Wow!?! That’s impressive! Way to go for not giving up! Love the new color & excited to see how it comes together! I’m going through a few kinks in my bedroom makeover, too! I keep changing directions…lol…I guess that’s how it goes, right? ;)

Thank you SO much for being honest in this post. I can’t tell you how many times I have failed at my DIY projects for home. The boyfriend starts to think I’m crazy-but I just can’t give up until it’s perfect. We aren’t crazy, we’re PASSIONATE! We have the ability to create beautiful things. No, they don’t always work out, but we always learn something new. Keep up the great work, I can’t wait to see the final reveal!

I just have to say that I stumbled upon your website today, and I fell IN LOVE with EVERYTHING. We have the same taste in styling and furniture, I just love everything on here! You just gained a new fan a couple thousand miles away, in Norway! I am obsessed!

Holy cow, what an ordeal and I can TOTALLY relate! I would have done the same as you and, in fact, I have some pieces that I painted a few years ago that are all going to get re-done. I was with you every step of the way and excited for you when you got it how you loved it. I’d call your final color a seafoam and it’s beautiful. Since I just surfed in for the first time, now I’m going to look for the next post and see the final product :)